Idaho Batholith Slideshownew -...

Map showing lobes of the Idaho Map showing lobes of the Idaho Batholith and geologyBatholith and geology

Geologic map of parts of Blaine and Custer Counties. Shows cross section from batholith east through core complex to thrust belt.

Sawtooth Valley, view to northwest from Galena Summit. The jagged peaks in the north part of the view are in the Eocene Sawtooth batholith. The more gentle peaks south of the prominent glacial lake (Alturas Lake) in center of view are cut from Cretaceous granodiorite of the Idaho

batholith. The sculpted hill in foreground is made of glacial debris.

Aerial view of Idaho batholith flying from Boise to Pocatello. Note the concordant summit surface, likely of Miocene age, and predating uplift of the batholith. The river is the south fork of the Boise

River. View is to the north.

Castle Peak in the White Cloud Mountains. Peak is underlain by gray granodiorite of the Idaho batholith. White rocks on the right are baked impure limestone of the Permian Grand Prize

Formation, intruded by the Cretaceous granodiorite. View is to north from north of 4th of July Creek.

View of White Cloud Mountains from Washington Basin. Dark bedded rocks in foreground are Permian Grand Prize Formation. Low knobby hills in distance are

underlain by Idaho batholith.

Buttercup Mountain in the southern Smoky Mountains north of Fairfield. The mountain is underlain by Cretaceous Idaho batholith. Rocks in foothills are Pennsylvanian and

Permian Dollarhide Formations.

View of South Fork of Boise River and placer workings at Placerville. Rocks are Cretaceous Idaho batholith, mostly.

Yankee Fork dredge. This device mined for placer gold in Yankee Fork of Salmon River until about 1955. Tours are still available.

Middle Fork Boise River at Lightfoot Hot Springs, Atlanta Lobe Idaho batholith, photo by Reed Lewis.

Cretaceous Biotite granodiorite, crossed polars. Megacrysts of potassium feldspar with inclusions.

Biotite granodiorite, Bitterroot Lobe, Idaho batholith.

Gneiss (metamorphosed Belt Supergroup?), margin of Bitterroot Lobe, Idaho batholith.

Foliated xenolith in granodiorite, mp 151, Highway 12, Lochsa River.

Mafic dike cutting Idaho batholith. Dike may be related to Challis or Columbia River basalt magmatism.

Gneiss on margin of Bitterroot Lobe, Clearwater Mountains.

Foliated Cretaceous granodiorite, above Horse Creek, western border zone of batholith. Note boudinage of felsic minerals.

Foliated Jurassic diorite at Dworshak Dam visitors center, just east of Orofino shear zone.

Tonalite, mp 84, Highway 12, Clearwater River.

Kent Peak from trailhead to TwoMouth Lakes, Selkirk Mountains, Cretaceous Kaniksubatholith. Note exfolation of glaciated granitic dome.

Joe’s Lake Cirque, Selkirk Mountains, Cretaceous granodiorite.